Need pushed.

Having your ATO only have a certain amount of water available to put in your sump is fail proof.
for instance. even if my ATO got stuck on I only have 10 gallons of water available for it to pump into the system, which wouldn't overflow anything even if all of it got pumped at once. the 10 gallons will last my 100g 5 days. theres nothing to be worried about if you plan it all out. my ato pump is a aqualifter so even if I run it dry there is no harm done to anything.

 

I agree, I would seriously consider trying to fit a sump into your plans. Personally, I would rather have a smaller tank with a sump than a larger one with no sump.

But if for whatever reason you decide not to go with a sump, for about 60 bucks you can attach an ATO to your display with a 5 gallon bucket next to or under your aquarium as a reserve. Even if the ATO fails, as someone mentioned above, 5 gallons isn't going to do much in a 220.

 

ProFlex Model 4 Sump what do you guys think of this. Just looking still not sure what i want to do. It happens to be on sale.

 

As a sump it will work, and it certainly looks fancy. But for $300 you can most certainly make something much better in function.

Melevsreef.com is a great resource for sump info

 

Thanks Ninja

 

Your welcome. Its just that for about $50 you can easily find a used aquarium on craigslist and for another $25 you can get the glass baffles from a glass shop. Add some silicone from HD/Lowes = instant sump.

 

If you live near any decent sized city, go on craigslist and find a used acrylic tank to use as a sump. I have a 240g sump I bought from an aquarium store that was going out of business - $150. I bought a 125g I'm using as a fuge for $130 and a 75g that I use for misc stuff for $90. For not too much you can get some acrylic cut to make baffles and a high water section and you're good to go at a fraction of the cost.